King Vijaya of Simhala

  

King Sinhabahu looked disturbed. Never in his entire life had he faced so much embarrassment. He, along with his brother, had been freed from the captivity of Sinha, the robber, by their brave mother, Suppadevi. He did not think twice before beheading his own father, Sinha, for rioting and playing havoc in the land. He single-handedly transformed this dreaded forestland into his kingdom, Sinhapura. A visionary braveheart, who had never compromised with his glory and honour, now had to deal with severe complaints from his subjects. It wouldn’t have hit him so deeply, hadn’t it been Vijaya, his son. This boy had the raging and unrestrained nature of Sinha, and he had to be stopped now. Why couldn’t he be like his twin brother, Sumitta! He and his group of hooligan followers had been creating havoc in the entire Sinhapura, going on looting people, vandalising properties and harassing the innocents. People of the kingdom wanted the entire troupe to be punished. They wanted him dead- an eye for an eye. But Sinhabahu had something else in his mind- after all, Vijaya was his son.

 

Within the next week, a huge manhunt took place, and Prince Vijaya, who had been hiding in a cave, was captured along with his 700 unruly followers. King Sinhabahu ordered every member of the team to be disgraced by half-shaving their heads. Then they were banished outside the kingdom in an almost broken ship. His heart ached for his son, but rules were rules, and no one should be spared.

 

As their ship slowly began to struggle against the waves, Vijaya looked at the shores of the mainland. He was not clear where he was heading. But one thing he was confident about was that he had a group of loyal people with him, who were ready to do anything for him. And that was his biggest asset- the power of a team, of loyalty.

After sailing for months, through stormy weather, rough waves, and scarcity of food, they finally reached a small island that almost looked like a land covered only in dense forest and nothing else. They could not see any trace of a civilization, even after they landed there. Where was this?

 

The best thing that they noticed was that the shore was covered with coconut trees. And coconut means food and shelter. The hungry group of men began working along the shore to build small huts from coconut leaves. That was the power of unity. Within the next couple of days, they would almost form a colony along the shore, feeding on fish, crabs, and coconuts. But Vijaya, a born warrior and extremely ambitious prince, was getting restless to venture beyond the shores into the forest to seek more.

 

So, after 3 days, he formed a group of half of his soldiers and led them into the dense forests. The forests were full of wild animals- snakes, bears, wild cats and many more threats. But they moved past every obstruction, and when they finally came across a dog roaming, they knew the locality was very nearby. They were already too exhausted to tread any further. Prince Vijaya took refuge under a gigantic tree, thirsty and hungry. The meagre food and water they had carried had run out. Now they had to approach the nearby locality to ask for food. However, the risk was whether these people were friendly or hostile. How would they know? Vijaya was thinking about this, his eyes closed. A sudden sound of a woman’s bangles forced him to open his eyes, only to find a stunning woman standing in front of him, looking at him. Her large doe eyes were filled with curiosity. Her exotic dark brown skin shone like polished stone in the sunlight.

“Who are you? What are you doing in our land?” she asked.

“I am Vijaya, the Prince of Sinhapura, and I have come here to live. I have 700 more people with me. Who are you?”

“I am Kuveni, the Yakshini Queen of Tambapanni, sister of God Saman. I have imprisoned all your men in a chasm. I will do that to you, too.” She announced in a stern voice.

The fearless Vijaya stood up, pulled Kuveni toward him, and grabbed her neck between his firm fists. “I don’t care who you are and who your brother is. You free my men, or else your life will end in my hands.”

“But, Prince, if I free you all, you will not be spared by the Yakshas of this land. They will not only kill all of you, but will devour you one by one. That is the rule of the land.” She explained.

“Help me to fight them, help me to kill them, help me to rule this land. I promise you will be my Queen, King Vijaya’s Queen.” Vijaya took her hands in his.

 

The Yakshini Kuveni freed the 700 soldiers of Vijaya and, over the next few days, taught them the nitty-gritty of Yaksha warfare. Within a few days, as the group of 700 men were ready to fight the big battle, Vijaya called them all, “We would rule this island after the battle. This will be our kingdom, and I will be the King of Tambapanni. Now, you all, fight for your King.”

 

The battle was fought, and with Kuveni’s support, Vijaya did not take long to oust his enemies and capture the land. After the win, he took over the throne, declaring himself the King of the entire island. As promised, he married Kuveni and, within a few years, had 2 children with her. But Vijaya’s constant companions began to urge him to marry a real princess, showing their disgust at accepting a Yakshini as their Queen. Vijaya, who did not want to enrage his loyal people, soon sent marriage proposals to the Pandya King, asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage. As the royal marriage took place with much pomp and gaiety, Kuveni was asked to leave the kingdom, leaving the children behind. This betrayal shattered Kuveni, and she left along with her two children, disobeying the King’s orders. It was said that Kuveni was either killed by her own people for betraying them, or she committed suicide and pleaded with the Gods to curse Vijaya. And cursed he was, as he could never leave an heir to his throne and had to surrender his kingdom to his twin brother, Sumitta’s son, Panduvasdeva.

 

This very island of Tambapanni became the later-day Simhala or Sri Lanka.

 

Dr Deshpande paused. 

Sunaina, who had been listening to her grandmother all this while, said, “Grandmother, were Yakshas the Rakshasas?”

“Yes, they were said to be the descendants of Ravana. However, this discovery of Sri Lanka can be found in ancient Pali scriptures of the Mahavamsa. It is also believed that Sinhapura was in Gujarat, and Vijaya’s grandmother, Suppadevi, was a princess of Vanga, now Bengal.” She spoke.

“You, my dear, would state the source of the information, without fail. However, this is the popular legend behind the discovery of Sri Lanka.” She further added.

“Today’s story is over. Now you go and study. Tomorrow, we meet for another story session and another toast of coffee.” She smiled at her granddaughter.

 

 

 To be continued

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.

Check out 

Part 1: Dr Deshpande's Dainty Tales

Part 2: The Buckriders of Limburg

Part 3: The Mystery of Puteri Gunung Ledang